Highs

August was overall a pretty damn lovely month. It was my birthday so I took a few days off to head up the beach and my family ended up joining us up there. We got super lucky when shell hunting on the beach, I would say the most shell-luck I’ve had since the 90s at a beach called Shelleys’s so that is saying something. On my birthday we were sitting eating fish and chips on the beach at sunset & dolphins came in! Which I have never seen in the 27 years I have been going there so that was pretty damn magical. Two clothing items I had been eyeing off went on special but I will touch on that later. I got to work with Penfolds and try an expensive red wine, such a treat. Went to the movies to see Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and really enjoyed all 2 and half hours of it. Hit a financial goal of mine early*. Transferred a chunk of money into my super. Also started a couple new personal projects that don’t make me any money!

Lows (but not really)

Hardly any lows this month but Michael ordered bubble tea and forgot to ask for pearls - that was a low. I wonder if anyone actually buys bubble tea without the pearls? The main reason we get bubble tea is for the surprise of a pearl when it hits your tongue. *So a high was hitting a financial goal I had early. But I felt weird about it. I was pretty close and on track to hit it at the end of the year however I hit it early because of the amazing actions of other people in my life. So I am having trouble being proud of myself or celebrating hitting that goal because the last step wasn’t the result of my hard work. Probably silly but I feel a little guilty about it.

I am 27, I don’t have my shit together

I turned 27 this month and for some reason it has thrown me a little. I think it is because in my mind I am 22 and doing well for my age? But then I realise I am 27.. and then I open facebook and suddenly feel the urge to get married, have a bun (that isn’t sourdough) in the oven and have a house that I am renovating. I don’t know but it hit me all of a sudden. Am I behind? What am I doing? What have I been doing?! *insert anxiety attack here*I can talk myself back down from that ledge but it still creeps up more than I enjoy at the moment. It is a time where I really have to stay strong with my own values and try not let the noise cloud me. I could also delete 90% of the people on my Facebook.

Saving to spend - A month on..

Last month I touched on that I was going to stop buying things weekly out of my spending money, pool left over money and at the end of each month treat myself to the things I wanted to buy. So I did that, pooled around the $800 mark and a couple of things happened. Firstly, I saved a bunch of money because I waited and 2 pricier items went on sale (or had discount codes). Secondly, I was a lot more considered about the items I was buying because I had to wait to purchase them and really look at what % of the $800 it would eat up. Lastly, buying it all over a couple of days meant it felt like Christmas when it all arrived. Delayed gratification is sometimes the best. I will be doing the same in the next week or so with the money I saved to spend in August. PS. This is outside of my savings, I am not spending my savings.

New Personal Projects

This month was a little more chill on the client front which was amazing as I was able to focus on creating for the sake of creating. First came the Cut Out Catalogue. If you follow me on Instagram you would have noticed I shared some cut out collages of beauty products earlier this month. I have been playing with cut out collages for a while now starting with the fruits a couple of years ago and now I have a full on obsession doing it to beauty products. I think I have around 30 on file now so keep an eye out on my feed for more soon.

I also started a new instagram account for another obsession of mine - bees on flowers. It isn’t for anything more than sharing my photos and videos of bees on flowers and it is bringing me so much joy. It is called Self Pollination (@selfpollination) because Bees on Flowers was already taken.

Highs

The biggest high that lasted the whole month was finding out that I will be an auntie to my first ever niece next year. 100% stoked about that and I am pretty sure that now all algorithms will think I am the one having a baby thanks to all of the searches I have been doing. After living at our new place nearly 9 months we finally found the perfect piece for behind our couch to store our books. That meant we could finally take them out of boxes and give them a good home. I finally picked up, read & finished Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee, such a compelling read. We had a lady bug join us for lunch one day which was the best visitor I could hope for. For the first time in 5 years I don’t have a tax bill and am actually getting money back! I started to enquire about treating myself to my dream dress (*see below for how that turned out) I went and spoke to someone about my finances and opened a new savings account to earn more interest. After getting over $1200 stolen out of my bank account I got it all back within just over a week.I bought tickets to see The National next year. I started booking in times to go for a walk in my work day. This may seem silly but I found it easier to leave the house when there is a dedicated hour for it.

(Hardly) Lows

I had a weird week for money luck this month. I had someone use my card to go on a $1200 shopping spree and had one of my online orders ‘lost’. Luckily they were both resolved but for a week there I was without a card and feeling a little anxious about it. I emailed one of my all time favourite designers this month to enquire about a dress I had seen on their instagram. After about 6 emails to try get any details about its release and price I found out that I had fallen in love with one of their most expensive dresses. It crushed me a little but I also know that for me, it wasn’t going to be worth it as I could also spend a couple of weeks in Europe for the same price.

New In: Designer bag

This month I made the choice to order the Acne Studios Mini Musubi Bag, my second designer bag purchase. I bought my first ever designer bag in 2015 and it was the Givenchy Pandora cross body in black. I am not really someone who buys designer things to sit in dust bags in a cardboard to re-sell at a later date. I want them to be used, I want them to age with me. That Givenchy bag has seen some shit. It has travelled through Europe and japan with me and still is my go-to daily bag. Then there was the Musubi. I think it first caught my eye over 6 months ago because I have been looking for a go-to brown/tan bag. There were some other bags that I looked at in the meantime but either the style didn’t come in a tan or I was concerned it was too much of an ‘it bag’ for me to consider for the long term. So why do I like the Musubi? Even though this is the Mini/Small version, it’s surprisingly roomy. However I wouldn’t like to pack it to the brim so that the shape still pinches at the top. The branding on the exterior is minimal including only a blind deboss of the logo, whereas there are some special branding details on the inside including a logo stamp and a branded tag for the zip. It is a super clean designer while the knots on each side adds interest. It also comes with a longer strap so that you can wear it cross body.

Beauty Stand Outs

Had a few new beauty bits arrive this month so I wanted to mention a couple of stand outs. The first one is for the cream beauty lover - The Mecca Cosmetica Duo. It is only $42 and includes both a cream cheek/lip colour and their raved about illuminating balm. I have been using it non-stop. The second is for those who love a gel moisturiser like the Clinique Moisture Surge Gel or even the Water Cream by Tacha. The next of its kind is the Glow Recipe Watermelon Juice Cleanser. Its consistency is a lightweight gel which soaks into the skin really nicely. Might not be your winter favourite but as it warms up I think I will be reaching for it a lot more.

For the month ahead..

Not to sound like a typical Leo but august is my birthday month so I am feeling pretty amped hah. I am scheduling light for mid August so that I can take a couple of days off and head to the beach for a long weekend. I haven’t taken any time off since Christmas so I am looking forward to that. I also am trying out a new ‘budgeting to spend’ method. Instead of just buying things week to week, I am aiming to not buy any ‘want’ items week to week and pool all of my left over ‘spending' money’ at the end of the month. That way I will have a larger sum of money and can look at my ‘want’ list and spend accordingly. I am just about to pool my money from July so I will let you know how it goes.

With Love, Jasmine

Your guide to where to stay, eat, shop and explore in Brisbane, my home town. The city is changing quite quickly so I thought it was about time I updated a weekend guide for Brisbane.

Where to Stay

It will come to no surprise to anyone who follows me on Instagram but The Calile Hotel in my opinion can’t be beat if you’re looking at where to stay in Brisbane. Not only is it located along a great set of shops & cafes on James St (see further down) but it is arguably one of the most beautiful places I have stayed, period.

Everything in this hotel is designed to perfection so when you’re not out exploring or running around with your phone shooting everything like I was, I would recommend lazing by the pool. Get yourself a lounge chair or cabana (yes, a cabana) and order yourself some drinks & nibbles. Enjoy the good Queensland weather.

what should I plan to do while I am here?

You should roll over to the other side of the bridge for two things. Within walking distance from the city there are two art galleries & performing arts centre(QPAC). Since they are so close to each other I would definitely recommend going to both the Gallery of Modern Art & Queensland Art Gallery. Head across to Julius or Gauge for a bite to eat before seeing a performance at QPAC. Currently the BOLSHOI BALLET is in town from 26 June to 7 July performing both Spartacus & Jewels. Spartacus is a story of a leader of slaves uprising against Roman rule. Jewels is a three-act ballet inspired by the stunning gem stones George Balanchine saw in Van Cleef & Arpels New York jewellery store. Find out more here.

Highs

There was a lot of love in the air this month. My oldest friend got married early May which was the perfect excuse to get away to the hinterland for a long weekend. She was the most beautiful bride and it was so special to be there to see her get married to the man of her dreams. A high was definitely waking up, making coffee and sitting in the bay window. Bay windows never get old for me, my next home needs one for sure! Another high was definitely the novelty of eating pizza in bed with beer and watching Project Runway with Michael while wearing robes. Finding a wedding outfit that I loved in time was definitely a plus (ps. if you need ideas - here is a blog post on it) New packaging arrived and it all looked just how I imagined it, ready for the collection launch. New bedding, always a plus. Discovered how good the colour lilac is and proceeded to then see it everywhere!

Lows

As always there is a lot of self doubt & anxiety in the lead up to the collection launch. I put myself out there in the hope that others love it as much as I do and that’s probably too much pressure. The Australian election. The fujifilm snapshot disposable cameras being sold out in all of my local stores. Having to do groceries with a sore post-wedding head. I haven’t had much luck with online shopping lately which has led to many returns.

Newly added albums

I have been listening to a couple of new albums on repeat lately. Firstly, IGOR by Tyler the Creator. To be honest I have never listened to any of his music prior to this album but I am really enjoying it. My Favourites are I Think, Running Out Of Time & A Boy Is A Gun. Secondly, I Am Easy To Find from The National. Their previous album Trouble Will Find Me is one of my favourite albums of all time so I am always apprehensive to hear a new album from them. A female vocalist has been added in this album and it is a really beautiful touch. Easy to Find, Not In Kansas & Pull of You are some of my favourites however you can’t go wrong with the whole album. It doesn’t live up to Trouble Will Find Me but it is still pretty damn amazing.

Behind Launching a new collection..

I have been releasing prints of my artworks since 2013. It is something that I began doing from requests and a way that I could make some money on the side while I was at university. It is a process that started from one off lettering commissions, to just lettering collections to what it is today - a full expression of anything creative I want to explore. The process has also got a lot more complex and full on over the years. I started off just printing at a print shop down the road as each order came through, or hand illustrated each one depending on the collection. I shot them right there and then, uploaded to my big cartel at the time and I was done. I laugh to think I was probably still as stressed out at that as I am now. Now there is a lot more that goes into it. This collection took me 1-2 months just to conceive after I had my initial ideas. Then post shooting I go into self doubt overdrive with those thoughts of ‘omg this is shit, you are bad at this’ then a lot of adding and subtracting artworks until the collection looks cohesive and I can no longer stand to look at it. Then comes a couple of weeks of proofing and ordering all new packaging ready for the launch. Once I have approved & have the final proofs, I have to shoot them. Putting them on a plan wall doesn’t cut it anymore. This collection I did 3 days of shooting in different areas of my home so that I have a varied set of images to go live with. Then marketing. Instagram posts are the easiest but I am also creating Instagram Story Tiles, Website Updates, Email Newsletters etc. Once all that is done, I start prepping the packaging for launch. Writing Thank You Cards, putting stickers on the mailing tubes so that the launch can go as seamlessly as possible and orders can go out as quickly as possible. June 2nd She Bloomed By The Ocean went live and I am so so grateful to everyone who has shared, like or purchased a piece for their own. The income from these collections allow me to keep doing what I love everyday and I don’t forget that. You are the reason I get to do what I love. You can view the collection in full here.

pushing through creative vulnerability.

Suddenly it was April, which meant I really had to put my foot down to focus on some personal creative work. For the last month I had been exploring ideas for the next range of photographic artworks and I was itching to actually bring it to life. With this came extreme vulnerability. Some of which brought me to a stand still, some woke me up in the middle of the night with panic but they still pushed me further.

Creating new collections always makes me feel a little self conscious. These have always been a way for me to explore my creativity and express it without a client in mind however they still are a revenue stream for me so it is sometimes hard to juggle.

As I write this I am finalising what will go to print and what won’t and I honestly can’t wait to share it.

The Highs

Not only did the League of Extraordinary Women go amazing but I also was involved with Alison Rice’s Offline live recording this month. You can listen to the episode wherever you listen to podcasts by searching ‘Offline The Podcast'. I went wild at Flower Lovers for the shoot and got so many beauties. We managed to shoot the collection concept despite the horrible weather. Spending the Easter long weekend with my family by the sea. Multiple public holidays which gave me an excuse to slow down a little. Spending a few hours in a rose garden with Michael on his day off. Started a very exciting product collaboration that will launch later this year. Some wonderful women/life savers on Instagram tagged & DM’d me the perfect skirt for weddings I have coming in May/June. All my clients paid on time this month - huge win.

What I learnt this month

You can’t please everyone. Some people will hate this collection and some people will think it’s their favourite. I can’t lose sight of why I create these collections. I create them to push myself creatively, to take myself out of my comfort zone & create artworks that I would love in my home. The other thing I learnt is watch how tightly you hold things to your chest. I think fear really took a hold this month and I held ideas, experiments and thoughts quite close to my chest. That left me feeling closed off and isolated from an audience that has always been so supportive.

The Lows

Self doubt. The weather the day of my collection shoot was rather difficult and meant we had limited shoot time between the wind/rain came. I got two green ant bites on the same foot while in the rose garden. Two public events in one weekend wiped this introvert out completely. I lost my Karen Walker’s off the edge of a boat.

I am working on my list of to-write blog posts so let me know in the comments if there are any topics/posts you would love to read